Summerville Man Who Threatened Restaurant Staff Sentenced on Federal Firearms Charge

Charleston, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Michael Stephen Strawn, 35, of Summerville, was sentenced to over four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Evidence presented to the court showed that in March 2018, officers of the North Charleston Police Department responded to a disturbance at a North Charleston restaurant. Officers learned that Michael Steven Strawn had threatened to kidnap an employee and make her disappear after a credit card was declined. Police caught up with Strawn at another restaurant, where a bystander warned an officer that Strawn had a gun. The officer drew his weapon and ordered Strawn to show his hands. When Strawn pulled his hands from his pocket, a loaded .40 caliber Glock fell to the ground, and Strawn was arrested.

United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Strawn to 51 months in federal prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the North Charleston Police Department.  It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.  Assistant United States Attorney Chris Schoen of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.

#####